Salinas offers specifics in lawsuit against Jose Castañeda

The city of Salinas has filed suit against City Councilman and Alisal Union School District trustee Jose Castañeda, saying there are specific reasons why his holding the two posts constitutes a conflict of interest.

Since taking office as a councilman in December, Castañeda has refused to step down from either post, despite calls for his resignation due to the apparent conflict.

He also recently became the target of a recall petition.

In response to the lawsuit, Castañeda said he remains focused on the priorities of his City Council district, and said the action was motivated by "politics."

The complaint cites a "clash of loyalties" and was filed in Monterey County Superior Court on Tuesday, Salinas City Attorney Vanessa Vallarta said.

The lawsuit asks the court to order Castañeda to step down from his school district position, pay a $5,000 fine and pay legal fees and other awards to be determined.

Besides citing California government code that appears to prohibit holding two conflicting public office positions, the complaint says the city is in the midst of litigation that involves the school district.

In a lawsuit filed in Sacramento County against the state's finance director and Monterey County's auditor, the city sued for the right to use tax revenue to pay debts incurred by its former redevelopment agency.

"Other local taxing agencies, including the AUSD, are named as real parties in interest in the lawsuit because they stand to receive the tax revenue and other funding," the complaint says.

In addition, the city has business relationships with the Alisal district, and five contracts between the city and the district were included as exhibits to the city's filing.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris' office earlier gave the city the right to file the action and "specifically opined that the office of school district trustee and city councilmember were incompatible, such that ... upon a school district trustees' assumption to the office of city councilmembers, the school district trustee forfeited his position with the school district," the complaint reads.

A summons naming Castañeda was also filed Tuesday.

In an emailed statement, Castañeda said he remains focused on "the priorities that have affected District 1 for many decades." He gave the example of Alco Water, a utility that serves the Alisal district and has been cited for hundreds of safe drinking water violations over the years.

Alco has had "drastic impacts on residents and businesses in the Alisal. I have asked for this to be placed as a future agenda item along with hosting a future meeting in the Alisal District. The mayor has expressed his support and I feel this is progress in the right direction."

He said Tuesday's City Council meeting included a report on infrastructure needs, which he said "served as evidence that we have a great need citywide to make our streets, lighting and sidewalks much safer. ...

"I am not focused on any lawsuit that will be moot at the end of the day," he said. "Unfortunately, we have a city attorney, Vanessa Vallarta, who pays more attention to politics than the greater needs of our city."